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A lot went down on last night's two-hour finale of "Life Unexpected" -- maybe a little too much. Granted, you can't have a two-hour finale that only lasts one hour, but it still seemed a bit squeezed. Plus, we were asked to believe some pretty unbelievable plot twists at the end. But more on that later.

Overprotective much?
Cate is in full-on nesting mode, driving Ryan and Lux crazy with an excess of terrible cooking and smothering. And we don't mean in butter. After the last episode's jarring incidents, Cate is demanding to know exactly where Lux is at all times and is even having Baze chauffeur her to and from school. Enjoy it, kid. It's way better than the bus.

It's time for a reality check
Cate isn't the only one playing Susie Homemaker -- Baze has his sights set on a brand new house of his own, complete with room for Emma to move in. Emma's clearly touched, but becomes hesitant once Lux warns her that the truth will out regarding her affair with Bazile Sr. But when Baze questions her reticence, she fends the blame off on Sam, saying she doesn't want to move too fast for him. This leads to a lot of teenager pandering on Baze's part and finally reassuring Sam that he'll always have a place at the Baze residence.

Read on for all the truly unexpected drama in the series finale after the jump!

Continue reading "Life Unexpected: All's well that ends weird" »

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Following hard on the heels of last week's arrested developments, this week's lighter moments were naturally few and far between on Life Unexpected. One would expect a certain amount of levity when a teenager is being charged with assault and another's dark secrets finally come to light.

The heat is on
Lux and family are hauled in for questioning regarding Tasha's misdeeds and Lux admits to stealing the car and confronting Valerie. When Trey decides to press charges, Tasha faces the possibility of getting tried as an adult, so Lux finally comes forward. She tells her family that she was beaten while living at Gilberts, giving Tasha a much better motive for attacking the man.

With a real case on their hands, the family gets a lawyer to represent Tasha, but suddenly Lux isn't interested in telling the truth anymore. She secretly visits Trey, threatening him with the real story if he chooses to take the stand. Trey agrees and Lux tells a very confused and concerned Cate that she made up the whole story and she really was the abusive one. Don't wander too far down that liar's road Lux, soon enough no one will believe you.

Read on for the full courtroom drama.

Continue reading "Life Unexpected recap: (Law & Order gavel noise)" »

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Yet again we have another CW show telling us in no uncertain terms that Thanksgiving is never, ever fun. Hell, at this point we'd settle for normal, or even catastrophe-free. No dice.

Right off the bat on Life Unexpected we're reminded that Baze and Emma are participating in a dangerous office relationship, Sam knows about Lux's secret and isn't afraid to milk that knowledge, and Tasha almost killed a guy. At least all the white of the over-abundant mashed potatoes sort of subdue the colorful autumnal palette of drama.

Never underestimate a blackmailer with nothing to lose
As if Lux didn't have enough to worry about, Jordan Catalano Sam decides to use his blackmail material to get an A grade with Daniels. Besides, he says, Lux owes him for taking the blame for the insanity on Homecoming. Lux is flabbergasted at his villainy, and we are a little, too. We expected more from you, Doppelganger Jordan.

Awkward pulls up a seat at the table when a Math-invited Daniels shows up at Thanksgiving along with Emma and Sam. Unable to speak about Sam's treachery openly, Lux tries to convey the situation to Daniels through significant looks and turns-of-phrase, but to no avail. C'mon, Daniels, you're a lit teacher -- read between the lines.

Things get more out of hand when Sam nicks a Polaroid of Lux and Daniels on their island date, having a bit too much fun for a teacher and student. In exchange for the photo Sam doesn't just want the A, he wants a kiss from Lux. We knew the little JD had a crush!

Read on for more Thanksgiving disasters and one little miracle after the jump.

Continue reading "Life Unexpected recap: We're just thankful we're not these people" »

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We seem to be getting to the bottom of Lux's problems in school on Life Unexpected this week, but not her problems with telling the truth. Seriously, girl. You need to just fess up if you were abused.

We also get to see Tasha in an adorable homecoming ensemble and Lux in a not-so-adorable homecoming ensemble. Plus, a Jordan Catalano doppelganger!

Sometimes, it actually helps to date a teacher
Due to Daniels' singular interest in Lux, he gets to the bottom of her learning disability, dysgraphia. Since it can be caused by brain damage, Lux, Baze and Cate troop over to the hospital where Lux gets an MRI and we learn that she had a stroke as a child. Apparently, this happened due to the coupling of Lux's heart condition and some kind of severe injury. When the doctor asks Lux if she can remember getting any particularly bad knocks or bumps in junior high, Lux puts on her terrible lie-face and says no. Should Baze and Cate be able to recognize this face by now?

Read on for high school dance weed breaks and general aggravated assault after the jump.

Continue reading "Life Unexpected recap: Lies and liabilities" »

Posted by Lindsey Reiser at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It seems Cate and Ryan's marital problems on Life Unexpected are finally coming to their logical conclusion: a separation. It's sad, but we're sick of Jerk Ryan, Crazy Cate and all the screaming. At the same time, another relationship seems to be budding despite the odds -- and despite how many people in the blast area are getting hurt, but more on that later.

You're never too old to act like a jealous college student
Cate starts off the entire episode on the wrong foot by snooping through Ryan's phone and plying Paige for dirt on Julia, and things don't improve when the couple is playing the "Side With Me" game at therapy. In an attempt to solve the problem, the therapist suggests an experiment: Be completely honest with each other about everything. And yes Cate, she means your-ass-looks-fat-in-those-jeans everything.

This is immediately and obviously a terrible idea. Cate and Ryan are at each others' throats with comments about terrible cooking and shirts that make him look "busty," which drives Ryan out of the house for a dinner with Paige. Instead, he finds the boys playing what seems to be an unholy wedding of a drinking game and "Mamma Mia," and decides they all need a night of drunken revelry.

Read on for more inebriated antics and star-crossed lovers after the jump.

Continue reading "Life Unexpected recap: You never grow out of stupid mistakes" »

Posted by Lindsey Reiser at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It seems that Ryan and Cate's terrible marriage is going through so much strain on Life Unexpected that it's having an effect on our own personal relationships. Seriously. We were actually arguing with Obligatory Man In The Room about who was more ridiculous, and just like Cate and Ryan, we only ended up going around in shout-y circles.

Which is one of the many reasons why we're sick and tired of this whole mess (and if the preview ad is to be believed, there's only going to be more on the way). Kids, marriage is hard. It really is. But there is no reason why this much vocal chord abuse is necessary. Clearly, Cate and Ryan have problems and clearly, he needs to start showing up for counseling, which was the one silver lining at the end of last night's episode.

It's hard to play hooky when you live with a teacher
Seemingly the entire cast is setting off for a camping trip with Lux's class -- except for Ryan who defects once he's had his fill of dealing with Cate. This also leads to him miss their first session with the marriage counselor, leaving Cate alone with the doctor and feeling like yet another person is ganging up on her. Because obviously, doctors want to antagonize their patents. That's a really good way to build up doctor-patient trust.

From the outset very few of the adults want to go on the trip. Baze has promised to take Emma on a well-planned date and Daniels has been warned to stay away by Lux. Unfortunately, everyone somehow suddenly seems terrified of Math's wrath and are forced to go. Baze drags Emma along saying it will be like an extended date, which has to terrify Emma because now she can't use one of those fake emergency calls from a friend to bail if she gets uncomfortable. Ryan shows up at the last minute, but makes it perfectly clear that he's there for Lux and no one else.

Read on for more useless screaming and one cute moment after the jump.

Continue reading "Life Unexpected recap: If a marriage falls in the woods, does it make a sound?" »

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Inappropriate seemed to be key word of this week's Life Unexpected. Baze is inappropriately going after his boss, while Lux and Daniels are getting inappropriately closer (and if the teaser for next week is to be believed, closer still). Meanwhile, Ryan and Cate are having arguments that are inappropriate to their weekend's intentions, which is to make a baby. Now it doesn't even look like make-up sex is in the cards. Oh well, maybe next time.

How can people not figure out what a "staycation" is?
So, were we the only ones surprised that no one understood Cate's concept of a "staycation"? Lifestyle magazines have been promoting the idea ever since the economy hit the skids two years ago, and even if you haven't heard of them, you could figure out the meaning just by virtue of the term's spelling. Or maybe we're expecting too much. Or the writers just needed some pseudo-comic dialogue. Whatever.

Our senseless aggravation aside, Cate and Ryan decide to take a little sojourn to the new swanky hotel in Portland for some uninterrupted baby-making, which is probably the best idea Cate's had in a while. She's finally on board the baby express and is attacking with her typical Type-A planning. But then -- shock, shock, horror -- Baze somehow interferes with the fun. We'd feign a surprised look if we actually cared for the 85th time.

Read on about how it's actually-kind-of-not-really Baze that screws this mess up, after the jump!

Continue reading "Life Unexpected recap: Know your place" »

Posted by Lindsey Reiser at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So, we're seriously concerned that Freaky Friday made an unholy union with Life Unexpected, since it seems that Lux and Cate have swapped brains. Either that, or Cate just left hers lying around somewhere, because DAMN she's doing some stupid crap. But we'll get to that.

That's the fun part
Cate and Ryan are still trying to have a baby, which they will continue to do uninhibited if Cate has her way. She's still on the Othotricyclin ride and hell-bent on riding alone. Surprisingly enough, Cate's mom has the best advice, telling her that keeping something like that from Ryan will result in some serious marital strife, but Cate has never been one to take advice the first time it's given. She should really work on that.

Meanwhile, Lux, Tasha and Baze are all torturing each other about their lovelorn lives. Baze has a minor freak-out when he hears about Ryan and Cate's procreation attempts and, since everyone is going to a music festival hosted by Cate and Ryan's radio station, proposes they all bring a date to get themselves out there. Lux must have temporarily forgotten her age, because she asks Daniels. Daniels can't go, both for the obvious reasons and he already has a date. Tasha asks Jones to try and set him up with Lux and Baze asks the copy girl. Oh well, one out of three ain't bad. Unfortunately Emma hijacks the date, saying she needs Baze's access to meet new, powerful clients in the music business, which turns out to be a stupid move for everyone involved.

Read on for motherly drama after the jump!

Continue reading "Life Unexpected recap: Mommies and midriffs" »

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The CW is trying its hand at a crossover tonight as the musicians from One Tree Hill take on a festival hosted by Life Unexpected's DJs -- and we're dying to see what happens! Britt Robertson gives us an idea of what to expect, plus talks about the competitive nature of her co-stars and chats about her upcoming movie role in Scream 4. Check it out!

Posted by Sarah at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If watching Life Unexpected has taught us anything, it's that your business is everyone's business. Sooner or later, everything about your personal life will come to the surface and your friends, family and coworkers will descend on it like so many hungry vultures. So what's the lesson? Make sure you steer clear of champagne cocktails and previous potential mothers.

If losers eat sugary cereal, call us the Chicago Cubs
On a winner-kick from his new-found success, Baze is amping up for Lux's basketball game and dragging Math along for the ride. As assistant coach to the JV team, Baze peppers the girls with inflated pep talks and encouragement, giving them hope about their upcoming abysmal chances against another team. On the home front, he's pressuring Math into ditching his Fruity Pebbles for protein shakes and hitting on Paige. While this isn't entirely wrong -- no regrets Math, get off your ass -- Baze later lying about fact that Paige wasn't interested definitely was. At the same time, it should have been Paige who told Math this, but we've pretty much given up hope on her.

At the big game the girls are failing spectacularly, Math is pissed at Baze for the fib and Paige is proving just how right Cate is about her by openly hitting on Mr. Daniels. Baze levels with everyone at halftime, telling the girls that their chances on the court weren't that good from outset, but with a lot of work they can turn themselves into a formidable team. He also inappropriately mentions that Math will find an awesome girl for himself, something none of his students should really be hearing. Maybe you should have told him that later over a beer, Baze.

Read on for secrets revealed and, of course, even more concealed.

Continue reading "Life Unexpected recap: Secrets, secrets, they're no fun..." »

Posted by Lindsey Reiser at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Math is one of those characters you can't help but root for -- he's such an all-around good guy. So it stands to reason that Austin Basis is a stitch to talk to as well. We spoke with the actor about his impressive acting education, playing a teacher and getting advice from Mary Tyler Moore.

Math is such a likable character because he seems to represent that really great teacher we all had at one time or another. From your bio it seems like you had a lot of educators in your life; do you draw a lot of inspiration from them playing a teacher?

I think I draw the most from my mom, who was a teacher for about 40 years in the New York City Public Schools system. When I was a kid she would sometimes take me to school with her and I would watch her with her students. She was kind of like that cool teacher that everybody likes. I think the difference is Math tries a little too hard to be that teacher. He isn’t exactly with it.

Yeah, he does have that man-purse. Do you have one of those?

I do have a masculine male-bag, I want to put it that way. This last week Jerry Levine, who has directed a few episodes, came in with a leather man-purse that reminded me of this one a teacher of mine in high school had. It looked like this hippie-ish, rawhide purse. I was like, “Jerry, that’s a man-purse.”

We suspect things are going to get a little hairy at school with Lux having hooked up with a teacher. Is Math going to be involved in the drama?

I don’t know exactly how that is going to resolve itself. Even if I did I probably couldn’t tell you anyway. He is going to be involved somehow. Talking about it with Jerry Levine, right off the bat he wanted to make it clear that if Baze, myself or Ryan took any note of a dynamic between Lux and the teacher that it would be over, they would immediately be onto it. So what we tried to do is create a situation where Lux and Eric could relate to each other that was not in front of us. We want to avoid a scene that would betray that relationship, because we want the guys to seem like real people, and real people would be able to see what's going on in that situation and discern that connection.

Continue reading "Austin Basis interview: Playing a teacher is all in the family" »

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With the bar-torching hippies, asexual genitalia jokes and students sleeping with their teachers, the residents of Portland are certainly living up to Baze's T-shirt. But it's the brown paper-wrapped school books, pressure to succeed and universal belief that beer and basketball solve everything that has us thinking maybe Portland is pretty darn traditional.

Oh wait, except for the father who sleeps with everyone's sister and the new husband having to deal with a new stepdaughter, new wife and new ex-flame all in one year. Never mind.

Houseguests, old fish and really messy sisters
Cate is finally at the end of her rope with Paige, who insists on putting empty food containers back into the fridge (Okay, we have to point out that we are totally guilty of this. Obligatory male in the room can be heard shouting "Unbelievable!" at the full-yet-empty fridge on many a night). But the final blow comes when Cate eats some lovely homemade banana bread left out for breakfast. Ordinarily, Cate's response to the bread -- having an overly large tongue, talking a lot and eating, eating, eating -- would be out of place, except that it's "special" banana bread baked by Paige. After coming down from her buzz, Cate reminds Ryan that it could have bee Lux who ate it, which is "definitely not okay."

To top it off, Cate finds $300 missing from her wallet and immediately thinks it's Paige's handiwork. Not wanting to blame his sister, Ryan plays devil's advocate and says it could be Lux. Both ladies are confronted, and Lux flips out for being blamed for the crime, while Paige just outright lies. Turns out Baze put her on the hook for half of the bar's damages -- $10,000 -- and she starts panning for gold around the Thomas household. When she finds Cate's wad of cash it goes right into Baze's unknowing hands. Hey Paige: When Baze said he needed your half, he didn't mean that day. Slow your roll.

Read on for more family weirdness, including corporate Baze...

Continue reading "Life Unexpected recap: Keep Portland Weird!" »

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Cate might not want to hear what Baze has to say half the time, but we sure do!

Kris Polaha, who plays Nate Bazile on Life Unexpected, chatted with us about what's in store for Baze, his evolution as a father and Polaha's own experience with fatherhood. Here's a spoiler: It involves superhero costumes. Awesome.

There's also more on Polaha's early acting career and his stint on Mad Men as creepy neighbor Carlton. Turns out he was in line for the for another role on the show, too...

Baze seems to suffer from a Peter Pan complex; he never really wants to grow up and that gets him into some trouble. Will this continue to be a big problem for him or will he become a bit more mature and avoid some of his common stumbling blocks?
This season he’s forced to find a new job as a financial analyst. Even though he had just owned a bar it’s not such a far stretch because it is his dad’s company. And, you know, he knows who Warren Buffet is and knows about venture investing, and he studied business in college. And then he meets Emma, who I think will propel him to do better. He doesn’t take himself very seriously, he thinks of himself as a joke, and he doesn’t want to be a joke anymore. It’s kind of a compelling story arc to play because I signed on for this ne’er-do-well, who, in the end, wants to be a worthy guy for Lux. And he sees that Ryan is this stand-up guy, and Cate chose Ryan, so he thinks that maybe if he had changed she would have chosen me. So he’s really going to try harder to be a better guy

It looks like his new job will be a big shift from being a small business owner. Will Baze have trouble with this transition?
Oh man! Well, you should’ve seen me squirm with the wardrobe crew. “Shave your face! Comb your hair! Put on this monkey suit!” It was so uncomfortable, I was like “Baze doesn’t wear this stuff!” But I don’t think it’s going to be the job that will be trouble for him, because he knows his stuff. It will be more of the culture and everything else that comes with the job.

More fatherly moments, trips to the 60s and an aversion to ties after the jump!

Continue reading "LUX interview: Kris Polaha could have been Don Draper. No, really." »

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Nothing says "I feel inadequate" like scouring the floors or wearing a strapless dress to school. At least in Portland, anyway.

Pretty much everyone was struggling with not-good-enough-itis this week on Life Unexpected. Except for Ryan, of course. Because he's perfect. (Hey, we'll cross that "Julia" bridge when we come to it.)

After waking up alone and packing Lux off to school, Cate proceeds to have a minor freak-out in the kitchen. It's never fun being left behind. It's also never fun being unemployed, but Cate should maybe take it easy for a few days. Times are hard and a lot of people are looking for work. Plus, now she can concentrate more on growing out that mom cut.

Workin' hard, or hardly workin'?
With the bar out of commission, Baze needs to find a new job to support himself and Lux. He gets an interview through his dad and proceeds to completely screw it up by having a loud cell phone conversation about his own intra-company shenanigans with Paige and his efforts to track her down for damages, which his interviewer overhears. He then throws in the "my dad owns this company" line, thereby throwing in the towel. Too bad, Baze, we think you could have actually worked the yuppie look.

Read on for failures and flashcards after the jump!

Continue reading "Life Unexpected: Sub-par Expectations" »

Posted by Lindsey Reiser at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You know that feeling when get back from vacation and it seems like all that R & R is immediately dissolved because of how much catching up you have to do with work, family, your social life, doing laundry, re-stocking the fridge...sigh. That was pretty much this entire episode of Life Unexpected.

We started off on a high with Lux's adorable flip-cam coverage of Ryan bearing Cate over the threshold and the whole family still buzzing from Las Vegas. But things devolved quickly after Baze showed up looking for attention and Bug did pretty much the dumbest thing ever. It's entirely possible that if Baze and Bug moved out of town the collective IQ of Portland would increase notably. But that's just a theory.

More bad decisions, bitchy bosses and random acts of debauchery after the jump.

Continue reading "Life Unexpected recap: Portland is burning" »

Posted by Lindsey Reiser at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yet another Sourcies season comes to an end... but we've saved the best for last! Our top shows hit us with loads of delicious cliffhangers this year, but which one rises above the others? Take a look and see what you think:

The poll closes on July 21 at 11:59pm central. Feel free to share the poll, but send folks back to us to comment. We'll wrap up all of the Sourcies on July 22 -- and then we dive straight into Comic Con!

Posted by Sarah at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (63) | TrackBacks (0)

You'll excuse us if we're a little fragile at the moment -- we've been sobbing quietly into our hankies as we went through the roster of your nominations for most heartbreaking moments on the CW this season. It was a bad year for moms, love and brothers on The CW, and we're still recovering. See what we mean below:

OK, because our poll provider is being wonky, and the poll is supposed to be closed, I'm taking a snapshot of the results and taking it down. And the winner is:

Oh, and congrats to Damon and Alaric of The Vampire Diaries, who defeated the tomb vamps and won the title of Best Fight. Actually, those tomb vamps were less of a challenge than Castiel and Dean from Supernatural -- the vampire/teacher duo fended off the angel/Hunter smackdown by only 4 percent. Well done winning that tough fight, boys!

Posted by Sarah at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (83) | TrackBacks (0)

The CW sure knows how to heat thing up ... so much that we couldn't limit ourselves to just five super-hot moments in this Sourcie category! Check out the video to see which moments made our temperatures rise this years:

Who's the hottest of them all? Your votes decide. The poll closes at 11:59 pm Central on June 28. One vote per person -- and yes, we've got our tech as secure as possible, so we mean that. (If we tightened it any more, we'd have to ask you to come in and cast paper ballots!) Feel free to promote and share the poll -- heck, we encourage you to get as many of your fellow fans across the globe to vote -- but please send people here to comment.

Oh, and speaking of hot: Congratulations to Damon and Katherine (although he thought it was Elena) of the Vampire Diaries, who took the Sourcie for Best Kiss with 43 percent of the vote. Well done! (Oh, and Damon -- if you need to practice your pucker over the summer, we're available...)

Posted by Sarah at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (65) | TrackBacks (0)

NOTE: NOMINATIONS ARE CLOSED! Check back later today for the first Sourcie!

Hello out there in Sourceland! We've got big plans afoot for the summer, and we need your help! We're compiling nominations for the 2010 Sourcies, which will run from June 14 through July 16. Why the short run? Because after that, we'll be sending you news from Comic Con, the TCAs, the Teen Choice Awards, and still more events until the new season starts. So let's got to it!

Our Sourcies categories this year are:

1. Best Kiss
2. Hottest Scene (as in, sparks flying between two people, usually with some bom-chicka-wow thrown in)
3. Best Fight
4. Most Heartbreaking Moment
5. Most Surprising Moment
6. Best Villain
7. Funniest Moment
8. Favorite Bad Boy
9. Favorite Recurring Character
10. Best Cliffhanger

We're expecting big things this year with the addition of The Vampire Diaries -- will the Salvatore brothers be able to give the Winchester boys from Supernatural a run for their money? And how will One Tree Hill fans vote now that Leyton is out of the picture? Do the scrappy underdogs from Life Unexpected have a chance at glory? Will Gossip Girl reap in votes what it gets in buzz? Will Melrose Place get some love from the fans even though the network canceled it? Will Smallville fans come out in force after the move to Friday night? Will 90210's crazy plot twists make the grade? And will America's Next Top Model bask in rewards or wallow in dreckitude?

It's all up to you: Let us know what scenes, characters and moments should appear in each category. We'll present our slate of Sourcies starting June 14 -- get ready, and may the best show win!

Posted by Sarah at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (165) | TrackBacks (0)

The CW is sticking with what works, adding just two new shows to its schedule. But those two shows allow the net wot stretch out its original programing over five nights -- a first for the relative newcomer.

In keeping with The CW's emphasis on TV for chicks who spend, the net's two new shows feature women -- one concentrating on women who do high kicks, while the other follows a woman who kicks ass.

New shows:

Hellcats - Wednesday 9pm
So, remember "Bring It On?" Remember the part where a rebel-type chick who used to be a gymnast joined the cheerleading team, and hilarity ensued? Take that plotline, move it to a university in the South where football is life, then stir in Ashley Tisdale as the leader of the cheerocracy and Tom Welling as an executive producer. Go, Hellcats!